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Inside Club 33

07.22.09 - Even if you're looking for
Club 33 at Disneyland Resort, you may walk right
by it. There's little more than an aqua-colored
"33" address plate — the luxury restaurant is
located at 33 Royal Street in New Orleans Square
— and a finely burnished gray door to hint at
the world of plush comfort, nuanced hospitality
and impeccable cuisine awaiting club members
inside.

That's just how Walt
wanted it: An exclusive, discrete, members-only
dining establishment where he could entertain
dignitaries and friends in a serene atmosphere
recalling the finest gourmet restaurants in New
Orleans and Paris. Sadly, Walt never dined in
his dream palace, having passed away six months
before its opening, but his formula was an
instant hit. Ever since Club 33 opened on June
15, 1967, a waiting list for one of its 480
member slots has stretched from New Orleans
Square to Tomorrowland and back again. Today
you'll wait at least 18 years for the privilege
of using your name and "Club 33 Member" in the
same sentence.

When you enter Club 33's elegant foyer, with its
cherry-colored wood walls, you know you've
arrived somewhere special. The sound and tumult
of the Park disappear as quiet elegance wraps
you in its comforting embrace. You can use the
grand staircase to reach the second-floor dining
rooms or ascend Parisian-style, in a
turn-of-the-century elevator lift Walt's
Imagineers built based on an elevator he saw in
the City of Light.

The main foyer
in Club 33 with a
turn-of-the-century-like elevator
Walt's Imagineers built based on one
he saw in Paris.

The pleasant sound of
hushed voices and ice clinking in glasses
welcomes you into the restaurant's dining areas.
Waiters carrying silver trays fragrant with the
delectable scents of lamb, chicken and shrimp
walk with deliberate though not hurried steps,
heading for one of two dining spaces — the
impeccably formal Main Dining Room, furnished
with Napoleonic chandeliers and artifacts Walt
and Lillian bought in Paris, and the Trophy
Room, a sumptuous, wood-paneled affair that
evokes the whispered elegance of a British men's
club. There's plenty of amazing memorabilia on
display as well — the oak telephone booth from
The Happiest Millionaire and a side table
from Mary Poppins, for example.

As we settle into plush leather seats in the
Trophy Room, our server describes today's lunch
menu. It's a mouth-watering soliloquy full of
high points — Seared Muscovy Duck Breast, served
with Apricot Pan Jus for example, or the
Norwegian Salmon, served with Pea Shoot Tendril
and a Champagne Risotto. The meal begins with a
trip to the appetizer bar, where salads,
imported cheeses, cold cuts and paté, fresh
shellfish and seasoned fingerling potatoes
provide ample pre-meal temptation. We savor each
mouthful while taking in our luxurious
surroundings — on the Trophy Room's rich
cypress-paneled walls hang Lillian's butterfly
collections, paintings from key milestones in
Walt's life and one of Fess Parker's rifles from
Davy Crockett. Above the doorway, a
leering, double-take-inducing
Audio-Animatronics® vulture serves as the
room's guardian.

Above the
doorway in the Trophy Room, an
Audio-Animatronics® vulture
serve as the room's de facto
guardian.

This being a work day, we
refuse our wine steward's invitation to sample a
MacMurray Pinot Noir, but he remains the picture
of affability. "If you look up, you'll see
microphones in the chandeliers," he says.
"Walt's idea was to have someone in the back
room listen to some of his guests talk then have
the vulture squawk a joke based on something
they said!" If you get the chance to dine here,
don't worry� the system was never put into
operation.

Lunch is nothing less than a revelation. Just
one standout is the magnificently flavored
London sirloin steak, generously portioned and
bathed in an indescribably delicious Béarnaise
sauce. Club 33 calls the accompaniment Yukon
gold steak fries — but "tiny pillows of fluffly
goodness" seems more appropriate! Every savory
bite of this gourmet feast reminds you that no
matter how spectacular the surroundings, food
comes first at Club 33.

Rooms with a
view.

Those that can still find
room for a post-meal sweet head for the dazzling
dessert bar, where we select from a
mouth-watering array of perfectly pixie-sized
chocolate éclairs, cheesecakes, Club 33's
classic coconut macaroons and other assorted
goodies. Nearby, a bubbling waterfall of
sinfully delicious chocolate is the gourmet's
version of an offer you can't refuse, and the
warm, gooey confection gives the treats added
splendor — if that's possible.

Chef Marcel St. Pierre stops by to say a
gracious hello. Before he heads back to the
kitchen, we ask him a quick question: What other
restaurants in town are comparable to this one?
He flashes a mischievous smile. "None are
comparable," he says.

"Quality will out," Walt Disney used to say. As
the door closes behind us and we walk out into a
sunlit New Orleans Square, joining a happy band
of buccaneers on their way to the Pirates of
the Caribbean attraction, it's impossible to
disagree.